The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Wii Virtual Console) Review

Truly, this is the best of all direct sequels in the history of the Legend of Zelda franchise, and in many ways is superior to its predecessor, The Ocarina of Time.  

Ocarina can't be beaten in terms of revolutionary game play, epic scale and mythological story telling, but this 2000 N64 title packs a punch that has more engaging characters, side quests, and dungeon crawling/puzzle solving than its predecessor.  There may be only four main dungeons, but there are plenty of masks, bottles and heart pieces to collect to keep a gamer busy for hours (particularly if the temptation of a walkthrough or strategy guide is firmly avoided, which is difficult for more than some of the side quests).

It's nice to play a Zelda game and actually care about the people and land in peril.  This time, Princess Zelda is practically gone from the story (aside from a brief musical memory scene), as is the Triforce macguffin, leaving only the land of Termina (a sort of parallel world to Hyrule, in the tradition of Koholint Island from Link's Awakening) for Link to focus on saving.

The moon fills the sky as it grins maniacally down at Link, an ever-present reminder of the chaotic influence of Majora's Mask, which seems to be drawing the moon toward Termina.  It is three days away from crashing and wiping the land and people out forever.  The solution to this is a fair amount of time traveling to beat the necessary dungeons and collect the necessary items to stop the impending crash, which is where the challenge sets in; this is the only Legend of Zelda game with a constantly running clock to remind the gamer that doom is crawling closer and closer.

What this essentially means is that the player has three days to beat a dungeon, collect the necessary masks to progress through the story and get closer to the goal of preventing Termina's demise, before playing the song of time and warping back to the beginning of the first day, once again with three days to complete the next set of objectives.  Three days may sound like a long time, but even if Link slows time down by playing the song of time backwards (which slows down time to half its default speed), he is going to have more than a little trouble fitting all the things there are to do into one day.

The time-jumping challenge is generally the chief cause of complaint amongst folks who play Majora's Mask and come away with a bad taste in their mouths. The truth is, this heightened difficulty level is a major strength in a series that often makes things too easy (who really had any trouble getting through Ocarina of Time, aside from the somebody who had never played a video game before?).

For the original N64, this game is a bargain potentially if picked up cheap, but that is unlikely to happen for under $30, and it shouldn't even be bothered with without an Expansion Pack, an additional $15 investment.  The Legend of Zelda Game Cube Collection is a better deal, as it includes Ocarina of Time, as well as the original two NES titles, but even that is tough to find for under $30, and the emulation on the game cube version of Majora's Mask is prone to audio and video lag.  The best bet is to snag it off the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console for 1000 Wii Points, which is exactly $10, with smoother graphical and musical emulation than its predecessors.

For Club Nintendo participants, it can be picked up through the end of this month (admittedly a paltry 36 hours as of this writing) for 150 Club Nintendo coins, which are earned by players that register their products with Nintendo and fill out short surveys about the experience.


For those who are looking for a great game at a great bargain, ten dollars/1000 Wii points is a pretty good deal for Majora's Mask.

-Jado
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Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Developer: Nintendo

Released: 2000 (Virtual Console 2009)

Cost: $10=1000 Wii Points


The bargain bin price is found on Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console.

Xenosaga Ep. 1: Der Wille Zur Macht Review

Space opera. Just hear the words and consider them. Space opera.

Most folks will immediately think of Star Wars and the universe of spinoffs, merch and fanfic the George Lucas brainchild spawned over the past four decades. Not this guy. My first major exposure to space travel as an engrossing experience that spawned a trilogy was the Xenosaga series Namco releases between 2002 and 2006, a massive project that ultimately collapsed under its own ambitious weight before the true potential was realized.

The Xenosaga lore begins with Xenogears, among the most revered titles in the PlayStation One’s annals. Space exploration, far-flung futures and so much mystical and philosophical influence was packed into that adventure RPG that Monolith Soft got started on the Xenosaga series, with six titles planned to expand the universe of the first title and plenty of crossover into anime, manga and novels.

The .hack series had better execution of the multimedia concept, though it got stale in a hurry as the MMORPG conceit driving those titles became flat after the first title, and it seems the Namco and Monolith Soft suits feared the same fate for the Xenosaga series, opting to bring in new story editors and concept designers midstream. This move had the effect of hiring new firefighters as the building is burning; the new team eschewed existing creative direction and sought to make a better product with fewer resources, and what’s worse is that the initial product was in no need of revision to begin with.

Alas, the cruel fate of the Xenosaga series was that its wild expansion and unfolding of plot twists and character development made it impossible to keep everything in line for six games and a library of anime and manga. All told, three games were released before Namco folded the project, leaving a long line of fans gloomy and wanting more.

The existing titles are still plenty of fun, and the first episode, Der Wille Zur Macht, sports the most complex gameplay and most developed storytelling.  The story line keeps party members invested in unique battle scenarios often enough that each character must be kept current in their levels and techniques, lest the run the risk of being way behind but required for use in a boss fight. The spread-out approach is nice, though as with most RPGs it will eventually boil down to selecting three favorites and maxing them out as the others get almost no play.

The story follows several themes that make this title worth seeking out and playing, whether for the first time for a younger player who missed out on the fantastic wave of early-2000s RPGs or for a nostalgic adult gamer who wishes to play it once more. The complexity of the story will certainly keep the gamer’s attention as it jumps from the story of Shion, the lead female protagonist involved with superweapon android KOS-MOS, to the story of Jr., one of three twins resulting from genetic experiments gone haywire. A malicious life form known as Gnosis ravage the humans populating the well-traveled universe of the future 4,000 years ahead of present day, and KOS-MOS’ role as a deterrent in the war against them includes diving into the android’s history while Jr. and Shion’s tales are explored.

A central theme is also on the rights of Realians, biomechanical beings developed to resemble human life but given a lower platform on the ladder of rights than natural humans. Their place in the distant future is up to question, as humans are becoming extinct under Gnosis attack and Realians may be the only form of life with any human semblance that will exist as the Gnosis destroy humanity. No one is even sure what a Gnosis truly is, let alone how to defeat them without the use of KOS-MOS or mecha-weapons designed to stave the Gnosis off but unable to defeat them entirely.

The gripping story and exciting battle system make this title a gem among the bargain bin, one worth seeking out and adding to any gamer’s collection. It may have taken its cues from Star Wars, but this take on space opera is among the PS2 library’s finest.

-Robert Seitzinger

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Xenosaga Ep. 1: Der Wille Zur Macht

Developer: Namco

Released: 2002

Cost: Under $10, IF purchased used, over $35 new.


The bargain bin price will be found at local game retailers, pawn shops, OR online from sites like eBay, Amazon, etc.

An Update

Long time no posts!  I have been looking at options for registering domains, and am still in the process of figuring things out, but I have writers, and a little content, but am still in the development process.  I will be releasing a few reviews here shortly from various writers, and am excited to continue down the recruitment vein.

New website is on the way... :)